1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to paddles for water sports, and more particularly to a paddle having a crooked loom and a blade with a surface topography, said paddle adapted for use with shallow draft watercraft, including kayaks, canoes, rafts, skiffs, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years improved boating technology has made many water sports more accessible to the general public. Competitive water sports and recreational activities such as canoeing, rafting, kayaking, rowing, and the like, are growing in popularity, and with this increase in popularity there is an increasingly discriminating core of consumers who purchase the most advanced and efficient equipment.
Along with developments in boat hull design, there have been corresponding developments in the means to manually propel boats; namely, in the design of oars and paddles. These developments derive from a swiftly growing body of knowledge in biomechanics and fluid flow principles and fluid mechanics. However, the developments also derive from the purely empirical findings of expert users, viz., competitive racers and serious recreational enthusiasts.
Predictably, then, improvements in paddle and oar design have focused on making the instruments more efficient in reducing resistance, induced drag, and the load and strain on the user, while increasing propulsive force and the ease of directional control. Improvements relate to both paddle and oar blades and their shafts (looms) and handles. Examples of recent paddle developments include the following:
Hagihara U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,053 discloses a paddle blade having a surface designed to lock water on the paddling surface, said means comprising a plurality of circular, elliptical or polygonal hollows formed and arranged on the paddling surface in rows or a grid pattern.
Franznick U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,830 teaches a kayak paddle with a wooden shaft having reduced weight and improved strength. The shaft is formed of lineal segments running the length of the shaft and joined to form a closed shaft structure. A twist may be introduced in the shaft to established any desired feathering of the blades.
Killen et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,830,024 discloses a paddle having one blade and a lateral force transmitting steering rib projecting from one of the blade side faces. The lateral force transmitting steering rib extends from the free terminal end of the paddle blade at right angles to the blade and extends longitudinally a distance of about one third to one half the length of the blade. It is intended to enable the user to paddle small boats on one side of the boat for both propulsion and course correction without necessitating the traditional "J" stroke, wherein the conventional paddle is turned outward at the end of the stroke.
Steinhour et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,424 teaches an ergonomically improved kayak paddle having grips conformed to the closed hand of the user and connected proximal to the paddle blade at an angle of five to ten degrees from the shaft.
Lindeberg et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,737,126 discloses a paddle or oar having a blade with an asymmetrical curved cross section throughout substantially the whole of the blade. The shape utilizes suction forces resulting from the passage of water over the surface of the blade so as to reduce displacement of the paddle caused by turbulence and eddy currents. It is specifically adapted for use with modern paddling techniques.
Harvey U.S. Pat. No. 4,673,361 teaches a canoe or kayak paddle having a crossbar structure such that when incorporated in either a single or double blade structure both hands grip crossbars when stroking on either side of the canoe or kayak.
While the foregoing inventions represent significant advances over their relatively primitive predecessors, paddle design has not nearly reached its potential for efficiency and ease of use.